Summary
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a national museum for the study and exhibition of African American history and culture.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals.
More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
Duties
The Collections Specialist carries out collections management activities.
In this position, you will:
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Be responsible for collections management functions that include preparing collections for long term housing, short- and long-distance transport, preparing for and submitting truck run requests for objects moving between the museum’s various facilities.
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Disassemble, assemble, load, unload, secure, crate or cradle artifacts in preparation for storage, shipping, transportation or exhibition. These tasks require the incumbent to construct cradles, dollies and other supports necessary to ensure safe handling, movement and storage of the artifacts. These storage implements are often custom-made to hold objects of unique size, shape and structure.
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Participate in integrated pest management program in storage locations, labs and galleries.
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Be responsible for general collections storage housekeeping and maintains records that track environmental controls in collection storage.
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Serve as the primary point of contact to all users of the collections, including SI staff, visitors, and colleagues around the world; communicates directly with specialists at SI and other institutions on issues related to collections management. Collaborate with staff to conduct periodic inventories of the collection.
- Design and implement procedures for physical care, conservation and transport of collection.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
- May need to complete a Probationary Period
- Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
- Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
- Must have a valid State or District of Columbia
drivers’ license.
- U.S. citizenship
Conditions of Employment
Must have a valid State, District of Columbia or U.S. Territories driver's license. (Submit a copy with your application)
Physical Requirements:
Position requires lifting, stooping, standing, walking, bending and climbing. Work is indoors and outdoors, and in inclement weather. Must be able to lift 40 pounds without assistance.
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:
Experience related to the operation or management of a museum or similar collection of valuable objects. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include collections management, registration, cataloging, research, preservation, restoration, or conservation of collections of museum material, or other experience related to the position to be filled. Most positions require a particular subject-matter specialization, e.g., aeronautics, anthropology, art, geology, history, natural science, technology, biology, or zoology.
In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience implementing collections management policies and procedures; assisting in handling, managing and storing small and medium or oversized objects; assisting with transport requirements for collections; processing collection objects and coordinating work flow related to collections processing; preparing objects for long term housing; assisting in packing objects and other components, viewings, and collections access visit support.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.
Or Education: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement in a field related to this position may be
substituted to meet the experience requirement.
Superior Academic Achievement Provisions:
A Bachelor’s degree in any field, plus at least one of the following superior academic achievement provisions:
1. A grade-point average (GPA) of B (3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale) for all completed undergraduate courses, or courses completed in
the last two years of undergraduate curriculum;
or
2. A grade-point average (GPA) of B+ (3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale) for the required courses in your major field of study, or required
courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; or
3. Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; or
4. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society, other than freshman honor societies. Honor societies that have been
approved are listed in the American College of Honor Societies. Booklet of Information (1992-95) and/or Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities (1991).
To verify your claim for this provision, please submit a college transcript(s) showing that you maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 for all 4 years of undergraduate courses, or on all undergraduate courses completed during the final 2 years of your curriculum, including all transferred courses.
Note: GPAs are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society.
Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
Education
This position has no basic education requirement.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below:
- Knowledge of procedures and methods used in the handling, storage, transport, care and preservation of museum collections, including the attendant record keeping.
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Skill in managing small and medium or oversized objects including planning and execution for handling, rehousing, and support plans using aerial lift platforms, pallet jacks, dollies, and forklifts.
- Knowledge of integrated pest management.
- Ability to monitor environmental controls (e.g., temperature and relative humidity).
- Ability to communicate orally in order to respond to inquiries regarding collections from the general public, donors, and vendors.
- Ability to communicate in writing in order to disseminate accurate information regarding collections to museum curators and staff, the general public, vendors, etc.
Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:
- Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
- Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
- Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.
This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.
Important Note:
Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed. You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
Your application package should include the following documents:
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Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.
For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
- Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
- Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
- Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
How to Apply
Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:
- You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
- You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
- The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
- If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.
Next steps
At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed.
Additional Information:
- Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
- The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
- The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).
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